Chapter 114 – Extra 6

Comrade Luo Chenzhou was quite content as he lay on Professor Caesar’s back, enjoying the moment. However, when the man carrying him bypassed the playground and took the small path leading to the faculty parking lot, even someone as clueless as Luo Chenzhou began to sense that something was off. With his arms still wrapped around the man’s neck, the black-haired young man casually reached out and slapped Caesar’s firm chest twice—

The sound of the wet shirt being slapped echoed loudly in the rain.

“…”

Damn.

A vein throbbed on Caesar’s temple. Reminding himself that it was his first day on the job and he couldn’t afford to scare the students by revealing his brutal nature, he summoned all his patience to resist the urge to throw the guy on his back into a puddle. Rain poured down his face, his wet hair sticking uncomfortably to his skin. Taking a deep breath, he spoke through gritted teeth, suppressing the urge to beat the living daylights out of the black-haired youth, “What now?”

If you dare bring up your underwear again, I’ll find a manhole and stuff you in it.

“Are you lost?” Luo Chenzhou asked curiously from his perch on Caesar’s back.

The question caught Caesar off guard. After three seconds, he snorted arrogantly, raising an eyebrow in displeasure. “Is my Chinese that bad, or is your Chinese just terrible? What are you even saying—lost? Me? Lost?”

What the hell.

Luo Chenzhou was speechless. “…Where does this confidence come from?”

“Since the day I was born, my instincts have been the best compass. Getting lost has never been in my vocabulary,” Caesar said calmly as he carried Luo Chenzhou onto a cobblestone path. Fifty meters ahead was the entrance to the underground parking lot.

Luo Chenzhou listened to the man’s nonsense from his back, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. He had originally wanted to tell Big Dog that the student dormitory was on the other side of the playground, which, compared to the parking lot, was like the North and South Poles of the Earth.

Seeing the large “P” sign hanging above the dark entrance to the parking lot, Luo Chenzhou felt a wave of unease.

At this moment, remembering that the once ruthless captain from his past life was now apparently a gangster in this one, Luo Chenzhou, fearing he might become the headline of tomorrow’s “Campus Dismemberment Case,” finally reined in his playful mood. He even retracted his claws from Caesar’s chest, patting the man’s broad shoulder cautiously. “Actually, Professor, since it’s your first day, you might not know, but the student dormitories are all on the other side of the playground…”

Caesar: “Who said I don’t know?”

…What a confident, bold, rhetorical question.

Luo Chenzhou’s soul was not only shattered but also ground into paste.

“If you knew, then why…”

“I’m going home. My new apartment is far from here. If I don’t drive, I’ll have to walk.”

“…What about ‘taking me back to the dorm’?”

“How am I supposed to appear in front of others like this?”

The man hoisted the black-haired youth higher on his back, securing him more firmly. By now, the two had entered the dark, cavernous underground parking lot. It was already past school hours, and most of the faculty had left, leaving the parking lot quiet and dimly lit by old light bulbs covered in spider webs on the walls. The only sounds were Caesar’s footsteps and his voice as he spoke—

“Thanks to you, I’m soaked from head to toe—”

“So your underwear’s wet too, huh?”

“Is that the point?”

“…No.”

Caesar pressed his lips together, deciding to keep his mouth shut to avoid losing his temper and committing murder on the spot. As they approached a familiar black car parked in the corner, he instructed the person on his back to hold on tight. The young man immediately complied—

“You don’t have to hold on that tight,” the man said, slightly exasperated. “I’m not going to drop you.”

“Even though you’ve thought about it many times already?”

“How did you know?” Caesar asked, slightly surprised.

“Just a guess.” Knowing your damn personality.

Caesar chuckled. With one hand supporting Luo Chenzhou’s butt and the other digging into his pocket for the car keys, he pressed the button, and the car lights flashed silently. He returned the keys to his pocket, opened the passenger door, and in one swift motion, Luo Chenzhou felt the world spin before he was neatly deposited into the passenger seat of Caesar’s car.

Beside him, the driver’s door opened, and a tall figure bent down to sit inside. With a thud, the car shook slightly as the door closed.

The sound of the pouring rain was completely shut out.

Inside the car, the two grown men stared at each other.

A minute later, Caesar gave up on wasting time with the kid. He started the car with a stoic expression, and under Luo Chenzhou’s wide-eyed gaze, he smoothly backed out of the tricky parking spot. As he stepped on the gas and drove up the ramp, leaving the parking lot and returning to the campus road, Luo Chenzhou held his tongue. As they passed the playground, Luo Chenzhou held his tongue again. When the car turned away from the playground, its rear facing the dormitory and its front heading toward the exit, Luo Chenzhou finally couldn’t hold back anymore—

“Caesar… uh, Professor, can I ask where we’re going?”

“Sure, ask.”

“Where are we going?”

“My apartment.”

Alright then.

Your apartment.

What kind of twist is this?

Laozi wanted to take things slow, maybe have a little romance, play out the teacher-student dynamic—you know, like that scene where you carried me through the rain? That was pretty good.

But now you’re in a hurry? So eager to get to the main event?

No, after 500 years, we can’t just rush into things. Thinking this, Luo Chenzhou decided to put on a show of restraint. He stared at the rhythmic windshield wipers, sneaking glances at the man in the driver’s seat. As Caesar turned the steering wheel to the left, the car silently exited the school gates. Luo Chenzhou paused before saying, somewhat insincerely, “Actually, Professor, I can just go back to the dorm.”

…Come on, Big Dog, say “No.”

Sure enough, as if to emphasize his determination, the man stepped on the gas, the speedometer jumping slightly as he flatly refused, “No.”

Good.

Luo Chenzhou blinked and continued his act. “Oh, why not?”

Caesar’s amber eyes stayed fixed on the road, not even glancing at the black-haired youth. He twitched the corner of his mouth and said in a monotone, “The dorm doesn’t have hot water from 9 AM to 7 PM. How are you going to change and wash your clothes?”

Oh, so thoughtful. You even know that. Luo Chenzhou put on a face of “Oh, you got me,” ready to play out the scene like the Oscar-worthy actor he was, when the man added—

“Besides, I told you, I’m soaked. How can I show up looking like this?”

Luo Chenzhou: “…”

So that’s the real reason.

Just like when Luo Chenzhou, still Miguel, had naively asked his captain—

“Big Dog, if you’re so good with a gun, why do you keep a dagger in your boot?”

“Because it looks cool.”

Yeah, exactly.

“—We’ll go to my place first. I can lend you some of my clothes,” Caesar said as he drove, suddenly remembering something and glancing at Luo Chenzhou. His gaze was like a scanner, and the black-haired youth instinctively straightened up, feeling the man’s faint chuckle in his ear. “Though my clothes might be a bit big on you. You’ll have to make do.”

I know.

Five hundred years ago, I raided your wardrobe more times than I can count.

As Luo Chenzhou sneaked a glance at the corner of Big Dog’s mouth, he found the slight curve of his lips quite attractive—if it weren’t for the fact that he was driving, Luo Chenzhou might have just gone for it—

Forget taking it slow.

A kiss would solve everything.

…

The rain continued to pour as the unassuming black car drove into a high-end residential complex.

The buildings were equipped with elevators, and each had a large basement with clearly marked parking spaces, neatly arranged. Luo Chenzhou thought of his own neighborhood, where cars were parked haphazardly, squeezing into every available spot, and suddenly felt the stark difference between people.

Everything around Caesar was always orderly, as the man liked to have everything under control.

As for Luo Chenzhou himself, he was a mess, living life as it came, and before meeting Big Dog, he had been a lazy, good-for-nothing slacker.

Old Three Dong Ming once said, “The wicked will get their due.”

“…”

The car door opened from the outside, and the tall man’s shadow enveloped the black-haired youth sitting in the passenger seat. The latter smiled, extending his arms slightly and leaning to the side. The man outside bent down and, in one smooth motion, picked him up from the seat.

Their movements were seamless, as if they had rehearsed this moment a hundred times before.

In the parking lot, the tall, handsome man carried the not-so-small youth in his arms, walking silently toward the elevator. His steady footsteps echoed monotonously in the empty space.

Luo Chenzhou, with his swollen foot, hung from Caesar’s neck like a sloth, his damp, fluffy head buried in the man’s solid chest.

Through the thin, soaked fabric of the man’s shirt, he could feel the warmth of their skin.

And in the man’s chest, the familiar, vibrant heartbeat he had dreamed of so many times felt so real and alive.

Ding. The elevator doors opened for them.

“Tuck your foot in, or how are we getting into the elevator? Holding it up like that looks good? Proud of stepping into a puddle and twisting your ankle, huh?”

“Yep.”

“You dare say ‘yep’?”

“…”

“…What are you laughing at?”

Looking down at the black-haired youth buried in his chest, laughing like an idiot, Caesar was utterly confused.

There was nothing particularly funny.

It was just that Luo Chenzhou suddenly felt that Dong Ming, that venomous snake, might have been right sometimes—this shameless creature who had danced to the rhythm of his own absurdity had finally found the heavens above him.

…

“Professor?”

“What?”

“Up close, that dog head necklace looks a lot like you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Seriously.”

“Shut up.”